The Heiress They Ignored

Chapter Seven

Jeremy

Thankfully, I don’t have any shoots in the near future.

Sitting behind my desk now, I realize that I don’t know where to begin with this search for Amera’s parents. I should try visiting my grandparents first. I can only hope they remember something helpful.

It’s barely ten o’clock. I’m sure Rob and I can drive to New Jersey and back today.

At exactly ten thirty-six, we drove out of the house.

“How long?”

“About forty minutes, depending on traffic,” Rob replied.

I looked out the window as Manhattan slowly disappeared behind us.

We took the Lincoln Tunnel into New Jersey, and I leaned back against the seat, going over everything Amera told me.

Something definitely happened after the summer of 2008, and I need answers.

I got carried away by my thoughts, which made the journey seem shorter.

We were already in Short Hills and were now pulling onto Hawthorne Ridge.

I haven’t been here in a long time, and I haven’t seen my grandparents in a while either.

Thankfully, Rob remembered to get a fruit basket.

There was always something majestic about driving up the long stone driveway, hidden behind tall hedges and mature oak trees.

This was the favorite part of my journey when I was younger, and I still wasn’t used to it, even after so many years.

“Well, look who remembered his grandparents today.”

My grandpa said as soon as he saw us drive in.

“Bessie! It’s your grandson. He finally regained his memory.”

“Oh, stop it, Basset.”

My grandma laughed as she walked down the entrance.

“Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes? Come in, baby.”

My grandparents, Basset and Bessie Kinston, are the reason the Kinstons are a name today.

We come from a long line of generational wealth, no doubt, but Bess and Bass, as they were called, moved us from millions to billions, and they held it down and taught it to the next generation—my parents.

“Now, I know this here boy didn’t come empty-handed.”

Living in New York easily made me forget my Black ancestry and the mannerisms that come with it.

But five seconds alone with Grandpa was more than enough to remind you.

“I brought a fruit basket, Grandpa,” I said, trying to hold my laughter.

“Aww, thank you, honey. You didn’t have to.”

“Girl, please. Don’t be lying to the kid like that. Plus, it’s high time you started bringing me some cigars. Talking ’bout a fruit basket.”

“Basset, stop it. The doctors done told you to stay off that smoking and drinking anyway.”

“I told David and Leticia that a girl would have been better.”

We all laughed as we walked to the bench on the mini-golf course.

“Now, tell us what brought you by, baby. ’Cause like your grand-daddy said, it’s almost like you regained your memory today.”

“It can’t be that bad, Mama,” I joked. “But I have a few questions for you and Papa.”

“Mmhmm, I knew there was something.”

Grandpa said as he swung his club.

“When I was seven, I spent the summer with you back on Halston Avenue…”

“Yeah, I remember that. Why?”

Grandma replied.

“There was this house I used to try to visit because I liked their daughter… The Pauls, I think.”

“This is about a girl? You came up here to trouble your grandmother and me because of a girl?”

“It’s about the family, Papa. Not the girl.”

“Now, Mama, when I came back about four years later, you told me they moved shortly after I left in 2008. What happened that made them leave so suddenly?”

“That, I cannot tell you because I don’t know. But we know that random people were seen stalking their house before they left. Then, after they left, a family came looking for them.”

“A family?”

“Yeah. Your papa has done business with them before, so he was certain that it was them.”

“What were they looking for?”

“It was something about a child. A girl they believed to be theirs. But Alice was pregnant before they moved, so the story is a bit confusing.”

If Alice was pregnant before they left, then it changes things.

They already had Amera first.

“You know, if memory serves me correctly, and I’m sure that it does…”

Grandpa said as he joined us.

“There was a scandal about a missing child.”

He paused, resting his club against his shoulder.

“Damaris gave birth to a daughter in 2003. On the same night, there was a power outage caused by a coming storm. The hospital instantly became chaotic. When they restored the power, their healthy daughter was dead.”

I frowned.

“Tests were run. From DNA to a biopsy, even. The results confirmed that the child wasn’t theirs. Only the doctors could confirm that another couple lost their baby shortly after birth and were told that they wouldn’t be able to conceive naturally again.”

My heart skipped.

Another couple.

Alice and Alex.

“Now, because of the outage, the CCTV cameras were down during the time of the switch.”

Wow.

That is a lot of information to unpack.

“So, how are they certain that the Pauls have their child?”

“The Roosevelt girl was the only missing child from that night, and by the time the lights were restored, all patients but the Pauls were present.”

“Roosevelt? Damaris Roosevelt?! You mean THE Roosevelts of Roosevelt Holdings?”

Grandpa laughed.

“Yes, son.”

“Wow. It must have been such a painful experience for them. How come they couldn’t find the Pauls after that night? Didn’t the hospital give them records or something?”

“You’re thinking like a Kinston. I like that.”

Grandpa grinned.

“Apparently, while one person grabbed the child, the other one cleared their data from the hospital’s records.”

I sank into my chair.

This was a well-thought-out plan.

“You know, grief can make you do things you wouldn’t do on a regular day, baby. Alice must have felt she had no other option since she was never going to have her own child.”

“Except, she has three children now.”

“Three children?”

They both asked simultaneously.

“Yeah. Maybe they got IVF or something. How can I contact the Roosevelts?”

“I have Dominic’s contact, but Damaris might be hard to see. She never fully recovered after that experience. She just keeps to her family and rarely appears in public.”

“Thank you so much, Papa.”